Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

ROTEL CHICKEN SPAGHETTI — Spaghetti gets a spicy kick with the addition of cheese and diced tomatoes and green chilies!

This is one of the first recipes I shared here at Let’s Dish, and let me tell you, it was high time for a new photo and a few recipe tweaks. This Rotel Chicken Spaghetti is seriously yummy comfort food. Think macaroni and cheese with a bit of a spicy kick!

Loved this recipe. It was fast simple and my family loved it. Thanks for all the good recipes! ~ Melissa

But even though I first shared this crowd-pleasing pasta dish back in 2010, it’s still one of the most popular recipes on the blog. Which goes to show you how good it is!

Even better, it’s so easy, even my kids can make it! I always keep the ingredients on hand because it’s such a great meal for busy week nights.

I try to refrain from second helpings most of the time. Otherwise having a food blog would seriously affect what the bathroom scale tells me every morning, but I just couldn’t resist a second helping of this.

Normally, I’m not a huge fan of processed cheese, but trust me, this is no time to be a food snob. The whole family loved it, and so did the extra boys that were eating dinner with us when I made it.

Made this tonight and it was a huge hit…..Will definitely make again as my husband and kids gobbled it up! ~ Terri

This makes for great leftovers too. I may or may not have had two helpings the next day for lunch. It does, however, make enough to feed a small army.

So unless you’re going to a potluck or have a lot of hungry teenage boys to feed, feel free to half the recipe.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ROTEL CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

This recipe was amazing. I made chicken spaghetti before and my kids hated it!! But your recipe was so good my kids loved it and had seconds! ~ Tanya

This recipe is good just the way it’s written. For me, the more stuff I can throw in, the happier I am. I printed this no fail recipe and intend on using it from now on. Thanks for a good simple recipe. ~ Amy

I love chicken spaghetti and this recipe is a keeper. ~ Iana

Ahh I love this chicken spaghetti! This was a staple in my house growing up. Totally easy, but warm and comforting. ~ Ashley

Be sure to save this Rotel Chicken Spaghetti recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Tips for Cooking Pasta

Use a big pot: Cook pasta in a large pot–big enough to hold 6 quarts of water per pound of pasta.

Salt: Generously season your cooking water with salt. A few teaspoons per quart of water is a good place to start. Although a little more or less is fine, depending on your preference.

Don’t overcook: Boil your pasta to until it is al dente, which means it’s cooked, but still a bit chewy. You’ll want to test your pasta for flavor and texture every 20 seconds or so during the last few minutes of cooking.

If you’ll continue cooking the pasta in a sauce, or baking it in the oven, remove the pot from the heat a few minutes before it’s done to prevent overcooking.

Here’s what you’ll need to make Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken

Cream of chicken soup

Canned diced tomatoes and green chilis

Garlic

Spices: onion powder, salt and pepper

Velveeta cheese

Spaghetti

Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

Yield: 6-8 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Spaghetti gets a spicy kick with the addition of cheese and diced tomatoes and green chilies!

You really have a great blog here, so many wonderful recipes. Your comment re the Velveeta (no time to be a food snob) made me laugh. This does look like an utterly delicious, wonderfully creamy and cheesy dish.

This is a good recipe! I followed it exactly as written then added half a little can of chopped black olives and a small can (undrained) mushroom slices. I had caused the original recipe to become thicker so I added a little milk to thin it back to original creaminess. This recipe is good just the way it’s written. For me, the more stuff I can throw in, the happier I am. I printed this no fail recipe and intend on using it from now on. Thanks for a good simple recipe.

Made this tonight and it was a huge hit. I used fire roasted Rotel tomatoes and 2% Velveeta cheese because that was what I had on hand. I also added some crushed garlic butter croutons to the top before putting in the oven. It turned out amazing! Also, all I had was frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts so I cooked them in the instant pot with a cup of chicken broth and a couple of frozen garlic cubes and some salt and once they were cooked I cut them into pieces and mixed them in with the soup, tomatoes and melted cheese. Worked great!

@ Terri – Thank you for your idea of putting the frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot first to thaw and cut up. I have the same thing and not much time, so was not sure what to do. 🙂 However, I don’t have frozen garlic cubes. I’m wondering if that’s something home-made?

Thank you for your recipe Danelle. It looks and sounds delicious. We’re going to be making it tonight for the first time, but I can’t find any spaghetti in the house. All I have is veggie wagon wheel pasta. I hope that is an acceptable substitute. I’m not sure if it may be too firm in comparison. Maybe I should send my son to the store for spaghetti… ?

I make one similar to this but I use rotisserie chicken (like a garlic & herb) from my grocer’s deli, super convenient & very flavorful, sautéed diced onion & frozen mixed, thawed. In fact I use rotisserie chicken (various flavors) in many different dishes. Much better than bland boiled chicken & a real time saver!

Can you make this a few hours in advance? I’m making for someone but didn’t know if I should put in oven here or let them put in oven at there house. I wasn’t sure how the cheese would hold up. Thank you so much for the recipe’

Should the spaghetti measure 8 oz BEFORE it is cooked and drained or after? I’m guessing before since the boxes I have are 16 oz and half the box would be what’s needed for the recipe but I hope I’m right…